


A New Hope

by fuzipenguin



Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Child Abandonment, Child Neglect, Established Relationship, Found Family, M/M, Non-Explicit Sex, Other, Twincest, child illness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:54:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27901831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fuzipenguin/pseuds/fuzipenguin
Summary: Finding a sparkling on a long-range patrol was totally not what the Twins had been anticipating.
Relationships: Sideswipe/Sunstreaker
Comments: 29
Kudos: 100





	A New Hope

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CosmosKitty](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CosmosKitty/gifts).



> This is a requested extension of a tumble speedwriting prompt, if the first part seems familiar. The prompt was: 'Sideswipe/Sunstreaker, unwanted'

“Uh… Sunny? There’s something you should see in here.”

“Bit busy! I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we’re under fire right now, so maybe you could help, and then I could see whatever it is sooner?” Sunstreaker called over his shoulder, rapidly firing off shots.

It didn’t take long to kill the ‘Con scouting party, although it would have gone faster if Sideswipe had helped. Irritated that he had never heard the report from his brother’s blaster, Sunstreaker stomped back into the hallway and paused when he caught an odd sound.

Was that… was Sideswipe singing?

What in the Pit had gotten into his twin now?!

“Alright, glitch for brains, what’s so important that you couldn’t help… the frag?”

Sunstreaker came to a halt in the doorway of the room Sideswipe had been clearing when Sunstreaker had spotted the scouting party. Mouth open in surprise, he took a step inside, staring at his brother’s lap.

A tiny gray frame was curled up there, shaking and trembling, hands pressed to each side of its helm. Sideswipe was bent over, one of his own hands covering a much smaller one and gently rocking the small body back and forth.

“Shhh…” Sideswipe said quietly, looking up at Sunstreaker. “He’s terrified. The shooting started and he immediately tried to block out the sounds.”

Sunstreaker came closer and dropped to his knees in front of his brother, gaze fixed on the sparkling. It was making the most pitiful whining and snuffling sounds, coolant tears tracking through the dirt on its cheeks.

“Do you see any sign of its parents?” Sunstreaker asked, doing his best to keep his voice down. Yet still, the sparking heard, jerking upright and back against Sideswipe’s chest at the sound of another mech. It cowered against Sideswipe, finally opening its optics. Sunstreaker was startled to see that they were a cloudy white, seemingly unable to focus as the sparkling’s gaze fitfully darted around.

“No. They probably abandoned him. Like so much unwanted garbage. Fraggers,” Sideswipe said, the calmness of his voice at odds with the fierce expression on his face.

“Sides… I think I may know why. I’m pretty sure it’s blind,” Sunstreaker said after several more moments of observation.

Sideswipe curled over the sparkling again, gently taking hold of its chin and guiding its face upwards. “Ah. I see what you mean. I wonder if he unfurled like that or if it was some sort of trauma. I bet his hearing has compensated for it and the sounds of the guns could have actually been painful.”

“Could be. What are we going to do with it?” Sunstreaker asked, scooting closer. The sparkling tentatively reached out and Sunstreaker met its inquiring fingers with one of his own. When nothing else happened, the sparkling relaxed out of its defensive posture, creeping closer and patting along Sunstreaker’s arm. “We can’t just leave it here.”

“Obviously,” Sideswipe replied, keeping a supportive hand on the sparkling’s waist as it crawled out of Sideswipe’s lap and into Sunstreaker’s. It seemed weak, plopping down on Sunstreaker’s knees almost immediately and wobbling in place with an inquiring chirp. “The town’s abandoned; probably has been for at least a day.”

“None of the other places we passed by were populated either,” Sunstreaker said. He frowned, remembering all the bombed-out buildings they had noted on their long-range patrol.

“Then we’ll take him with us back to base. We’ll protect him until we can get him to someone a little more qualified to care for a sparkling,” Sideswipe said with a decisive nod.

Sideswipe had that particular glint in his optics that said Primus help anyone who told him ‘no’. Fortunately, Sunstreaker was in complete agreement with his twin.

“Well, we better get going. I have no idea if any of those ‘cons radioed back about encountering us. It’s a bit of a trek to base, especially if we’re going to be carrying this one with us,” Sunstreaker said. He gently cradled the back of the sparkling’s helm and it blindly looked up at him, whistling an uncertainty glyph in binary.

Sunstreaker empathized. They knew what it was like to be thrown away and scared, not knowing what would happen next. He swore on their shared spark that this child would make it someplace where it was cherished and loved; it was the absolute least they could do.

\--

The moon was full by the time they stopped again. If it had just been the two of them, they would have kept going, but the sparkling needed rest. Or more rest than could be achieved when strapped to one of their chests.

It was Sunstreaker who had come up with the idea of a sling, something which would keep their hands free if need be. He’d barely even blinked before pulling out every single cleaning cloth he carried and tying them all together. Sideswipe had watched with a secretive little curve to his lips but hadn’t commented otherwise. He’d merely bounced the sparkling up and down in his arms when it started to fuss.

“What do we feed him?” Sideswipe asked once they had arrived at their makeshift campsite. It wasn’t much, just a small alcove Sunstreaker had spotted in the side of one of the cliffs outside Uraya. It had been a bit of a climb to reach, but it was dry and allowed them a good view of the surrounding area. Any ‘con would have a difficult time sneaking up on them.

Sunstreaker looked over his shoulder at his twin, watching him unwind the sling from around his neck. The sparkling struggled free as soon as there was enough slack, beeping crossly as it was finally able to move a bit more.

“Oh, hush,” Sideswipe said softly. He balled up the cloth and tossed it onto the ground while holding the sparkling in the crook of his opposite arm. “Let me get settled.”

Sideswipe unceremoniously plopped down onto the ground with the sparkling in his lap, and Sunstreaker winced at the small puff of dust that wafted up as he did so. When he was moving, he didn’t notice the grime as much, but once Sunstreaker took a break, sometimes it was all he could think about.

“I’m not sure. I think they need something different than normal rations though,” Sunstreaker replied, turning to glance back out the cave entrance. They would take turns being on watch while the other stayed with the sparkling and recharged.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought too. But that’s all we have. Well… I have some of that Polyhexan high grade I filched from Stormbreaker, but I really don’t think that’s appropriate for this little guy, so rations it is. I wonder how long he was on his own for,” Sideswipe said, cupping the sparkling’s cheek. His thumb rubbed across the sparkling’s dry lips and it immediately latched on to the tip of the digit, whining in disappointment a moment later when nothing came out.

“Silly bitlet,” Sideswipe said, smiling. “That’s not where fuel comes from, even in a mech with a feeding line. Give me a second and I’ll see what I can do for you.”

Sunstreaker watched as Sideswipe pulled several items out of subspace, one of which was a sealed ration. As soon as he cracked it, the sparkling’s head tilted to the side and his milky gaze fixated on it.

“You know, I think he may have _some_ sight,” Sideswipe commented, slowly moving the cube back and forth. The sparkling’s head followed the cube and it bounced in Sideswipe’s lap, cooing excitedly.

“That’s good. I can’t wait for a medic to look it over though… how are you planning on getting that down it?” Sunstreaker asked curiously as Sideswipe peered into the cube with a frown. “It’s gonna spill all over.”

“Yeah, I was just thinking that. Oooh! I have an idea!”

Sideswipe carefully placed the cube to the side and reached into subspace again, rummaging around until he pulled out his gun cleaning kit. He placed the kit on the ground and flicked the locks, raising the top. Digging around in the box one-handed, he finally pulled out a cleaning rod with a triumphant noise.

“Sideswipe, that’s filthy,” Sunstreaker protested, immediately seeing what his twin planned to do. The rod was hollow and could serve as a straw in a pinch but surely gun oils would be detrimental to a sparkling’s delicate tanks?

“Nope, this is a clean one. Haven’t used it yet,” Sideswipe said, carefully holding it up into a ray of moonlight. “I think… yeah, it’s this one. Hold your chassis,” Sideswipe said absently to the sparkling as it wriggled around impatiently, almost sliding off Sideswipe’s lap.

Sideswipe stuck one end of the rod into the energon cube and carefully directed the other end to the sparkling’s mouth. There were several amusing moments of the sparkling moving one way and the straw just missing its mouth in its excitement, but eventually, the rod ended up at the little one’s eager lips. As soon as it did, the sparkling latched on to the shaft, tiny fingers wrapping around it as if it would be torn away at any second.

“There you go. Bet that feels good on your empty tank,” Sideswipe said, pulling his legs up so that his thighs bumped the sparkling’s back. The sparkling leaned against them, its optics lidding in contentment as it sucked on the straw.

“Don’t let it have too much. Or too quickly,” Sunstreaker warned, but Sideswipe was already lifting the other end of the straw out of the cube after only a few swallows.

The sparkling kept on sucking, optics opening back up and staring down at the straw in mounting confusion and frustration. It started whining and Sideswipe raised the cube once more, allowing the rod to skim the surface of the fuel.

Sideswipe repeated this cycle two more times and on the third, the sparkling growled when Sideswipe went to lower the cube, arms reaching out and waving wildly in the air. Despite himself, Sunstreaker snorted and hid a chuckle behind a hand. 

“Fierce, isn’t it?” Sunstreaker commented.

“Uh huh. Laugh it up; you’re safe over there. I’m the one about to be chewed on,” Sideswipe said, also grinning. He directed his next words to the sparkling.

“I know you’re mad, little bit, but we’re going to stop for now. If your systems tolerate it, you can have some more in a little while.”

He carefully laid the rod down onto a clean cloth and opened the cube completely, taking several swallows himself before reclosing the container. Sunstreaker observed as the sparkling avidly watched each of Sideswipe’s actions, growing more and more distressed. It started making angry little grunting noises and bounced in place, fingers still stretched out in silent demand.

It was unspeakably cute, not that Sunstreaker would ever say it out loud.

Sideswipe returned the energon cube to subspace and took up the rod, forcibly blowing through one end of it to dispel any remaining droplets inside. Then he cleaned the outside off and wrapped it up tightly, placing it inside his smaller subspace pocket on his outer left arm. That was where he kept his most valued possessions like the shard of Sunstreaker’s spark housing. Seeing Sideswipe store the rod there made something deep inside Sunstreaker’s chest warm.

“Should we name him?” Sideswipe asked, slanting a glance over at Sunstreaker. As Sunstreaker pursed his lips, Sideswipe grabbed hold of the sparkling and positioned it high on one side of his chest.

“That’s traditionally the job of the parents… what are you doing?”

“Burping him,” Sideswipe said matter-of-factly. He started gently patting the sparkling’s back. “I’m pretty sure that’s a thing. Especially since he sucked up a lot of air. And his parents aren’t around.”

“No, but whoever adopts it will be its new parents. They can do it,” Sunstreaker said, experiencing a pang of something akin to regret. He resolutely shoved it away.

“Well, someone at the orphanage named us,” Sideswipe pointed out. “Sprocket said we didn’t have any names when we were dropped off, right?”

Sunstreaker sighed and gracefully sat on a relatively clean rock at the entrance to the cave. “Yes, but if we had ever been adopted, they might not have stuck. Sideswipe… you know we can’t keep it.”

Sideswipe frowned. “I know. But it’s just easier than saying ‘the sparkling this’ and ‘the sparkling that’. We don’t have to get fancy. It can be something simple.”

His voice took on that faint cajoling edge that meant Sunstreaker would be giving in soon. He rolled his optics and waved a hand in Sideswipe’s direction.

“Fine. You pick something.”

“Hmmm… what to call you, what to call you…” Sideswipe mused. “Blaster? No, you didn’t like the sounds of that gunfight. You don’t have any colors yet… and I’ve only just met you and so far you’ve only been scared and hungry. Definitely demanding when you’re hungry though…”

All of a sudden, the sparkling wriggled and burped loudly. Immediately afterward, it sighed and nestled into Sideswipe’s shoulder, contentedly trilling. Sideswipe looked up at Sunstreaker, optics soft and wistful.

“We can’t keep it, Sides,” Sunstreaker reminded him, recognizing the expression on his brother’s face. “Get some recharge. I’ll wake you in a few hours.”

“Right. Be sure you do,” Sideswipe warned. “You need some rest as well.”

Clutching the sparkling to himself, he scooted farther away from the rock wall so he could lie down on his back. Once comfortable, he slid the now conked out sparking farther down his chest, directly atop his spark. Sideswipe placed one hand on the sparkling’s upper back and the other over its thighs, anchoring it in place so it wouldn’t slip off one way or the other.

Sunstreaker supposed it made sense. If the sparkling could hear the beat of Sideswipe’s spark, it’d probably be reassured if it woke up disorientated. Noting the position for when he and his brother would switch out later, Sunstreaker stared out into the darkness of the cave opening, resolutely not thinking about how good Sideswipe looked with a child in his arms.

\--

Sideswipe woke to vibration on his chest. It took him a second to remember where he was and why he was lying flat on his back when he preferred to sleep on his side. Once he did, he opened his optics and lifted his head, gazing down the front of his frame.

The sparkling (he still needed a name, Sideswipe absently thought) had leveraged himself up onto his forearms and was shaking. His little face was pinched tight with discomfort and Sideswipe automatically cupped the back of his head, thumb soothingly rubbing over the soft plating.

“What’s the matter, little one?” Sideswipe asked quietly. “Did you have a bad memory purge? Or maybe… _oh_.”

“What? What is it?” Sunstreaker asked, flicking on a low beam and striding over. “… ew.”

Yeah, that about summed that up.

Sideswipe carefully slid the sparkling to the side while digging in his thigh subspace pocket, otherwise carefully staying still. He finally pulled out an old waxing cloth and dropped it onto the mess covering his chest. Fortunately, he got to it before any fluid leaked into the nearby seams but he had to shut off his olfactory sensors.

Clotted, curdled energon _stunk_.

“Well, I guess that’s what happens when you give a sparkling regular rations,” Sideswipe said disappointedly. “You ok… oh, hey, wait, wait, wait!”

Sideswipe quickly rolled to the side, sweeping the sparkling with him so that the product of the next heave splattered onto the ground instead of him. The sparkling hung onto to Sideswipe’s arm with a surprisingly strong grip and heaved again, his engine revving in distress.

“Poor thing,” Sunstreaker said quietly, kneeling by their side and stroking the sparkling’s helm. “I’m glad you didn’t give it more than you did.”

It had been barely two swallows for a mech of their size, but Sideswipe fretted that even that had been too much. Who knows how long the sparkling’s tanks had been empty? Maybe Sideswipe should have given the sparkling even less than he had.

The sparkling wearily rested the side of his face on Sideswipe’s inner forearm, one white optic hazily blinking at Sideswipe in abject misery.

“Oh, baby… I’m so sorry,” Sideswipe said mournfully, ducking down and nuzzling the tiny helm. “I just made things worse.”

Primus, he felt horrible.

“We worked with what we had,” Sunstreaker said, placing a hand on Sideswipe’s arm. He stroked upwards until he could grip Sideswipe’s nape, giving him a little shake. “You didn’t kill it, so stop that line of code.”

Sideswipe slanted his optics upwards, desperately searching his twin’s face. “What are we going to give him? He’s going to starve!”

“It’s not going to starve, Sides,” Sunstreaker said with a little huff. “We’re barely a day out from base.”

Sideswipe closed his optics and snuggled the sparkling close, feeling helpless. They were supposed to protect the kid, not endanger him further. Logically, Sideswipe knew they were doing everything they could to help the sparkling, but he still felt guilty when faced with the misery on the child’s face.

“What do you want to do?” Sunstreaker asked quietly. “Do you want to let it rest longer or go?”

Sideswipe opened his optics again, considering his brother’s frame. “You haven’t had a chance to recharge.”

“I’ll recharge when we’re back on base, and I’m not being flooded with your worry,” Sunstreaker replied. Sideswipe reflexively narrowed his end of the bond feeling guilty all over again, but this time in regards to his twin. “You know we only really stopped for it anyway.”

“Then if you’re ok, I wanna get going,” Sideswipe decided. He wanted to be someplace where there were other mechs who could help protect the sparkling as well as provide actual sustenance and medical care for him.

Sunstreaker pushed himself to his feet and leaned over, holding out his hand. Sideswipe took it and let his twin haul him upwards.

“Gimme the kid,” Sunstreaker instructed, leaning back down and snatching up the sling. He wrapped it around himself and held out a hand. Sideswipe frowned and held the sparkling closer to himself. It was irrational because he knew Sunstreaker would protect the sparkling with his life, but Sideswipe was reluctant to let the child go.

“Maybe I should…”

“Sideswipe… Primus love you, but you’re already so attached they’re gonna have to pry it out of your hands with a crowbar,” Sunstreaker said, his tone full of fond exasperation. Mixed in with it though was a hint of steel that Sideswipe knew not to cross. Without further protest, Sideswipe handed the sparkling over and watched as Sunstreaker carefully deposited him in the sling.

“I’m not attached,” Sideswipe muttered petulantly, picking his way around the rocks as he followed Sunstreaker out of the cave.

“Ok! Maybe I’m a _little_ attached,” Sideswipe said in defeat as Sunstreaker gave him a Look just before he disappeared over the edge of the cave mouth. “But can you blame me? He’s so cute!”

“ _You’re_ cute, but I’d give you up in a sparkbeat.”

The cranky words floated up to Sideswipe’s audials and he smiled to himself as he watched Sunstreaker descend lower before bending and swinging a leg down, pede searching for the first foothold.

“No, you wouldn’t… you’d no idea what to do with yourself without me in your life,” Sideswipe retorted.

Sunstreaker didn’t reply verbally, but he gave Sideswipe a gentle caress over their bond in agreement.

\--

By the time they made it back to the base, Sideswipe was a jittery mess and Sunstreaker wasn’t much better. The sparkling had purged no less than fourteen more times, although the last few had just been dry heaves. He kept making these pitiful little warbles that burned at Sunstreaker’s spark and Sideswipe had teared up already more than once.

It was with utmost relief when Sunstreaker breached the makeshift perimeter. As soon as he did, he grabbed hold of the closest guard.

“Where’s the medic?” Sunstreaker demanded. Judging by the guard’s expression of terror, Sunstreaker wasn’t doing a good job of keeping his emotions in check, but he dared anyone to with the limp pile of fragile metal crying in his arms.

“He… uh… um…”

“Dead.”

Sunstreaker carefully turned around and watched Kup, their unit commander approach. His ever-present cygar was clenched between his denta and his optics roved over the both of them as Sideswipe moved to Sunstreaker’s side.

“Don’t look like either of you are hurt; watcha need a docbot for?”

“Dead?” Sideswipe echoed, hand reaching out to clutch Sunstreaker’s elbow for reassurance. “But we…”

“We found this little one in that town you sent us to investigate,” Sunstreaker said, flipping a corner of the sling away to expose the sparkling’s pale face. “It was abandoned for who knows how long. And it’s not doing so great.”

Kup frowned down at the sparkling, several of the guards edging closer as they tried to get a glimpse too. Sparklings were becoming more and more rare as the war raged on. “Looks like he’s been purgin’.”

“We only had our rations to give it. We didn’t give it much, but…”

“He puked it all up and then some,” Kup said with a sigh. “C’mon, my office. LoneGun, go to medical and grab me some tubing plus several cubes of midgrade… bring it all back to my tent. Beaker, you go with him and grab a heating blanket and some empty cubes.”

Kup turned on his heel, gesturing for Sideswipe and Sunstreaker to follow him.

“Can you help him?” Sideswipe demanded.

Kup glanced over his shoulder, a grim expression on his face. “I’ll do my best. No promises, though.”

\-- 

Sunstreaker was honestly amazed at how quickly Kup created a makeshift distillery in his tent. Soon, the medical grade energon was bubbling away as Kup took the sparkling from Sunstreaker and carefully laid him out onto the heating blanket. The blanket covered Kup’s desk and seemed laughably large in comparison to the small frame resting atop it.

“Primus, he’s a tiny one,” Kup commented, pulling a med kit out of his bottom left desk drawer. He rifled through the contents before pulling out two patches Sunstreaker couldn’t see the packaging for. Kup peeled away the backing of both and applied one to each of the sparkling’s upper arms. Within seconds, the sparkling relaxed back onto the blanket, the lines on his face easing.

“What were those?” Sideswipe asked, arms crossed so tightly over his hood that his frame creaked every time he ventilated.

“Nausea and pain,” Kup said. He pulled out a package of wipes and dabbed at the sparkling’s lips and cheeks, slowly wiping away the dried vomitus which Sunstreaker hadn’t been able to get up. “His tanks are crampin’ for sure and the patches will help ‘em get some rest until we can get the transfusion set up.”

“Transfusion?” Sunstreaker echoed, considering the distillery again.

“Yeah. Best not try anything by mouth for several more hours. Transfusion will be the quickest way to get him the nutrients he needs.”

“How do you know how to do all this?” Sideswipe asked, edging closer. His optics were fixated on the sparkling and Sunstreaker had a momentary worry that he would snatch it up and not let go, but he seemed to be controlling the urge. For now.

Sunstreaker had to admit that he hadn’t wanted to release the sparkling either. Sideswipe’s yearning was helplessly flooding their bond, but Sunstreaker by now was invested in his own right. He had carried the sparkling for the rest of the trek back and feeling that tiny frame huddle in misery against his chest had created some pretty protective feelings inside Sunstreaker’s spark.

“Been around youngins all my life. Medics too. Picked up a few things,” Kup said absently. “You name ‘im yet?”

“Never got around to it. We were only going to give it something quick and easy anyway.” Sunstreaker said. “It’s not like its ours.”

Kup’s hands paused and he looked up, glancing from Sunstreaker to Sideswipe. His gaze lingered on Sideswipe’s tense frame for a moment before Kup shook his head. “Oh, he’s yours alright.”

“We’re frontliners, we can’t…” Sunstreaker protested, his optics widening at Kup’s implication.

“We’re all somethin’ in this war,” Kup replied, bundling the sparkling in the blanket. He slid his hands under the folds of cloth and lifted the sparkling up, taking two steps over to Sideswipe and extending the bundle.

Sideswipe never even hesitated; he grabbed hold of the sparkling and cradled it to his chest, natural as can be. Sunstreaker felt the way Sideswipe immediately felt better once the sparkling was back in his arms and how the rest of the world faded away as he peered down into that tiny face.

Primus. Sunstreaker either needed to get Sideswipe away from this child right now or give in to the inevitable.

\--

They had been born into a world where parents abandoning their children was not as rare as one might think, especially in such uncertain times. He and Sideswipe had been but days old when they were dropped off at an orphanage and had grown up under the watchful optics of social workers and shelter Caretakers.

Even at a young age, Sideswipe had been good with the other kids at the orphanage. He’d always had a ready smile and hug for frightened new arrivals and could easily calm down the children that woke nightly with terror-filled memory purges. It had been an unspoken rule that the older kids helped out with the younger ones, but for Sideswipe, it had never been a chore.

With that knowledge in mind, Sunstreaker supposed that he shouldn’t have been surprised with how quickly and deeply Sideswipe had latched onto their little foundling.

“We need to figure out what we’re going to do with him,” Sunstreaker finally said several hours later in the privacy of their hastily erected tent. The sound of acid rain sprinkling down on the protective steelium cloth was a soothing background to Sideswipe’s quiet humming as he rocked the sparkling back and forth.

Kup had done two separate transfusions, and they had helped immensely. The sparkling was sleeping peacefully now, his primer gray plating much less matte and splotchy than when they had first found him. Their squadron leader had given them the distillery supplies and instructions on how to make sparkling-grade energon from even their own rations, advising that the next time the child woke, they could start feeding him orally again.

“Tangier mentioned at least one orphanage still being operable at Iacon,” Sideswipe said after a moment’s pause, his voice watery. “Course we’re two cities away from Iacon, but that’s probably the safest place for him. Like you said… we’re frontliners. We have no business with a sparkling.”

“… Sideswipe.”

His brother resolutely refused to look up at Sunstreaker. “Yeah?”

“Sideswipe, look at me.”

Sideswipe took in a steadying vent and finally raised his head. Optics a fraction wider than normal and mouth set in a grim line, he looked two seconds away from starting a fight.

And Sunstreaker really didn’t want to fight.

“I was thinking we could ask Kup to reassign us. Prime’s only got that one old geezer of a bodyguard and a rotation would make better sense. If not Prime, then maybe one of his tactical staff; those guys are always at risk for assassination. Since there’s two of us, there’d always be someone with the little bit,” Sunstreaker said, jerking his head toward the bundle in Sideswipe’s arms.

Sideswipe’s mouth fell open in surprise and if nothing else, at least Sunstreaker got to witness his twin being utterly blindsided. That was a rare sight. 

“… what?”

“Well… you _do_ want to keep him… don’t you?” Sunstreaker asked, raising an orbital ridge.

Sideswipe’s lower lip trembled an instant before he pressed them together. Instead of speaking, he carefully eased the sparkling down onto his cot, ensuring he wouldn’t roll off in one direction or another.

Then he flung himself at Sunstreaker, landing in his lap and peppering kisses all over his face. “I love you. I love you so much, you’re the hottest… _sexiest_ … creature that ever existed,” Sideswipe said in a whispered rush. “I’m gonna frag you so hard you’re gonna see stars for a week.”

Well, Sunstreaker could get on board with that. He let Sideswipe push him down onto the cot, spreading his thighs wide when Sideswipe squirmed his way between them.

“I would think you wouldn’t want to frag right next to the sparkling,” Sunstreaker muttered, hands on Sideswipe’s aft as he ground his heated interface panel against Sunstreaker’s.

“He’s gorked on that pain patch. And we better make use of what moments we have because I don’t think we’re gonna get a lot of alone time in our future,” Sideswipe said gleefully.

\--

The sparkling woke up in the middle of the night, making fussy sounds which brought Sideswipe out of a deep recharge within seconds. He squirmed out from under Sunstreaker’s arm and shuffled over to where the sparkling had sat up and was blearily looking around. When he caught sight of Sideswipe’s silhouette, he smiled and held his arms up.

“Oh, Primus,” Sunstreaker muttered as Sideswipe gave a tiny squeal of joy and swooped up the sparkling. “Well, that settles it. You’re definitely ours, kid.”

“Of course he is!” Sideswipe exclaimed, nuzzling the sparkling’s belly and making him laugh. “Are you hungry again? I just bet you are! You got a lot of catching up to do, my little friend. Come on, let’s snuggle with papa and get you breakfast.”

Sideswipe grabbed two of the pouches Kup had created as well as an actual straw one of the camp cooks had found. Then he crawled back into bed with Sunstreaker, propping himself upright and placing the sparkling on his lap. Sunstreaker shifted closer, slipping an arm over Sideswipe’s thighs behind the sparkling and turning his face enough so he could watch the proceedings.

In no time at all, the sparkling was happily sucking away on his fuel, swaying back and forth with his optics nearly closed. Sunstreaker reached a hand up and gently stroked the sparkling’s back, causing his little engine to kick into a purr.

“We still have to name him,” Sunstreaker commented.

“Yeah, I know. Now that he seems to be feeling better, I’d like to wait another day or so though. See what kind of personality he’s got,” Sideswipe said. He chuckled when the sparkling’s cheeks hollowed as he sucked harder to get the last dregs in his container. “Calm down, baby, there’s another one.”

He gently pulled the straw away from the sparkling’s mouth, prompting him to pout. Sideswipe clutched at his chest and gave his twin a look of despair.

“Oh, Primus – that little face just kills me. He’s gonna make me spoil him rotten.”

“Uh huh. Guess I’ll be the strict one,” Sunstreaker said, shifting into a seated position and lifting the sparkling up. He held him close to his chest and started patting his back. “One more pouch?”

“Yup. And _please_ … we both know you’re a softie. He’s going to have you wrapped around his little finger in no time,” Sideswipe said, feeling giddy.

It was so _right_ to witness Sunstreaker with the sparkling in his arms. Sideswipe felt like swooning, but instead, he pierced the thin seal of the second pouch with the straw and held the container between his palms to try and warm it up a little.

“You’re confusing him with you,” Sunstreaker said. He leaned in and dropped a kiss on Sideswipe’s cheek.

Well, ok, swooning it was then.

Their earlier interface had been hard and heavy, fueled by the multitude of emotions they had experienced over the past day and a half. But the spark merge afterward had been leisurely and deep, leaving them both feeling mellow. Sideswipe was practically floating on a sea of love.

Love for his twin and love for the tiny sparkling resting his head trustingly on Sunstreaker’s shoulder. Sideswipe thought he might burst from the overwhelming emotion and it was only the thought of the upcoming conversation with Kup that was keeping him from grabbing the loves of his life and dancing around their cramped tent.

Sunstreaker’s idea of reassignment was a really good one. Neither one of them had wanted to leave the frontlines any time soon, despite the inherent dangers that the position presented. They were warbuilds, with the base coding and software to support all the hardware they sported. Taking a less actionable role without something to focus their energies on would have driven them a little mad.

Fortunately, a sparkling should be enough to keep them busy, especially on top of guarding someone like Prime or one of his lieutenants. Sideswipe well remembered how exhausted the orphanage guardians had always looked when they were growing up. Of course, there had probably been one guardian per ten younglings instead of the two of them to one sparkling, but still. They had limited experience in child-rearing and would be learning as they went.

Now they just had to convince Kup, although Sideswipe had the feeling it wouldn’t be too hard. Not with the way he had seemed to understand with one glance just how important the sparkling meant to them.

“Are you saying you would do anything I asked you to?” Sideswipe inquired with a grin. The sparkling belched suddenly and his body relaxed back against Sunstreaker’s shoulder, face turning towards Sideswipe. A tiny glossa came out and swiped over his lower lip as his head wobbled on his neck like a turbohound scenting prey as his gaze zeroed in on the pouch in Sideswipe’s hands.

“Not anything. Someone has to rein in your more idiotic ideas,” Sunstreaker replied, his small smile softening the statement. “But yeah, most things. You should know that by now.”

As if Sideswipe were any different.

“Mm. Here. Feed him the second one. I thought I might put together a little bath for him… make him somewhat more presentable when we go beg our case,” Sideswipe said, handing over the warmed up pouch.

“Not that I’m opposed to giving him a bath, but I don’t think Kup’s gonna care one iota what any of us look like,” Sunstreaker said.

Surprisingly, Sunstreaker wasn’t demanding a bath of his own, but he also seemed pretty entranced with watching the sparkling latch onto the straw and start drinking again.

“Probably not. But I know you do,” Sideswipe remarked. “And I’m sure you’re feeling itchy.”

“A little. Why don’t we just take a shower together?” Sunstreaker suggested, rubbing at a patch of dirt on the sparkling’s shoulder.

“We could do that too,” Sideswipe said agreeably. “He might feel more comfortable with both of us there anyway. I’m not sure what his experience with cleanser has been.”

“If he’s ever had an experience before,” Sunstreaker said, frowning and rubbing at the stubborn spot harder.

The sparkling made an irritated sound and batted at Sunstreaker’s fingers, making Sunstreaker jerk his hand away. Sideswipe snorted at the surprised look on his twin’s face.

“Not one to get distracted from his food, I see,” Sideswipe remarked, grinning a little. “Also a bit sassy. Well, how about you finish that with him and I’ll go secure a stall. Meet me there in about ten minutes?”

Sunstreaker looked up at Sideswipe as he stood, his gaze traveling down Sideswipe’s frame like a heavy caress. “Sounds good.”

Smiling smugly, Sideswipe was sure to give his hips an extra little sashay as he ducked out of their tent and made his way over to the washracks.

\--

Being a forward operating base for the region meant that everything on-site could be dismantled and ready to move in minutes. The washracks were no exception so they weren’t overly private and each stall was average-sized with hose extensions for the larger frames to use if they couldn’t quite fit.

Sideswipe and he had could fit in one stall together if they were careful of their elbows and knees, but while Sunstreaker loved the sight of fluids and suds sluicing down his brother’s frame, he preferred adequate space to perform proper superficial maintenance.

Of course, he wanted to watch the sparkling’s reaction to being cleaned, so this time around, he was more willing than usual to cram into the small stall.

After the sparkling had finished his second serving, Sunstreaker burped him again. Then Sunstreaker leveraged himself up, tucking the sparkling into the crook of his arm. He moved out of the tent and paused just outside it, reflexively looking around. It was about two hours away from the start of beta shift so there were few others moving around.

Once again, Sunstreaker witnessed evidence of the sparkling’s disproportionate senses as he completely ignored the passing of a soft-footed courier only yards away, yet his head cocked to the side as a heavier tankformer stomped down a neighboring row of tents. At the sound of the larger frame, the sparkling shrunk against Sunstreaker, tiny fingers clutching his collar seam.

“I got you,” Sunstreaker said quietly, pressing his cheek against the sparkling’s helm. He patted the little back, leaving his hand there as a shield between the sparkling and the rest of the world. The sparkling relaxed slightly, but there was still a tenseness to him that Sunstreaker mourned.

“Come on… Sides will use up all the hot water if we’re not careful,” Sunstreaker said, turning and heading towards the washracks. That was a lie, of course. Sideswipe cared far less about his appearance than Sunstreaker ever did. By the time Sunstreaker got there, he’d probably be nearly done washing up.

The sparkling made a small inquiring noise, his head swiveling back and forth as Sunstreaker walked. Sunstreaker couldn’t wait to meet up with a real doctor so they could find out exactly what was wrong with the sparkling’s optics and if it could be fixed.

As Sunstreaker reached for the door of the washracks building, he heard Sideswipe’s voice quietly singing over the sound of a recorded music track. Sunstreaker didn’t think much of it; Sideswipe liked to sing, especially when he was relaxed and happy. He would dance too although nothing fancy. It was one of the things Sunstreaker loved most about his twin, especially the absent-minded way Sideswipe usually did one or the other.

The sparkling’s reaction to hearing Sideswipe’s voice was somewhat unexpected, however. As soon as he heard it, he jerked away from Sunstreaker’s body, nearly slipping completely out of his grasp. Fuel pump beating fast in surprise, Sunstreaker grabbed him and held him close, feeling the tiny body strain against his hands in the direction of the washracks. He practically vibrated in his plating and Sunstreaker had no idea what was going through his little head.

Fear would have made him cower; this seemed like excitement and eagerness all rolled into one, much like how he viewed his energon.

“What?” Sunstreaker questioned, although he knew the sparkling couldn’t answer. “You like that? You like Sideswipe’s singing?”

“Sunny?”

Sideswipe poked his head around the edge of the wall of the farthest stall as soon as he heard Sunstreaker’s voice. “Everything ok?”

“Yeah. He just got really worked up when he heard you,” Sunstreaker explained, moving closer.

Even though Sideswipe had stopped singing, the music was still playing from his personal sound system. It was something with a lot of horns and quick, light beats and the sparkling seemed utterly entranced. He squealed and reached out to Sideswipe, the twins exchanging him without a second thought. As soon as the sparkling was settled in Sideswipe’s arms, he began to bounce in place and started patting every bit of Sideswipe he could reach, head tilting from one side to the other.

“Or maybe it’s the actual music,” Sunstreaker said, observing him. After a few seconds, he realized the sparkling was trying to find the source of the sounds.

“That’s probably it. I’m a decent singer, but I’m not going to be recording albums anytime soon,” Sideswipe said, peering down curiously at the sparkling, a small smile on his face.

“Don’t think anyone is in the middle of a war,” Sunstreaker said, gesturing for Sideswipe to make his way back into the stall. By now, the sparkling had found Sideswipe’s closest speaker and had his nasal ridge pressed up against it as he tried to peer inside.

Sideswipe nodded and turned back towards the spray, moving closer to it until the outermost edges of the water-cleanser mix began striking the sparkling’s back. He flinched but when Sideswipe didn’t move and remained relaxed, the sparkling turned to look over his shoulder. Holding out a cautious hand, he moved his fingers into the stream.

The sparkling let a few drops gather on his fingertips before bringing them up to his nasal ridge and sniffing. Making a ‘huh’ sound, he seemingly dismissed the moisture and turned back to the speaker, petting it almost reverently.

“Music lover,” Sideswipe commented and Sunstreaker hummed in agreement, reaching for their bottle of soap. He poured a dollop onto one palm and rubbed them together to build a lather. Then he gently starting running his hands along the sparkling’s dorsum, massaging the more malleable plating with small circles.

“Or at least he likes jazz,” Sideswipe added when another similar song came on.

Sunstreaker supposed the bath could have gone a lot worse. He had dim memories of Sideswipe squalling his head off at the orphanage anytime he got anywhere near water. Their sparkling just let his body be manipulated in order for Sunstreaker’s fingers to run over every inch of his frame, too distracted by the music. Sideswipe moved through a few different songs, trying out various genres and gauging the sparkling’s reactions. Some songs got head bopping, others made him go still and his mouth drop open as he soaked in the various notes with a look of rapture on his face.

They both laughed out loud at the expression of betrayal the sparkling gave Sideswipe when he started up a heavy metal band, nasal ridge wrinkling at the screamed lyrics.

“No, heavy metal, got it,” Sideswipe said, carefully turning the sparkling around so Sunstreaker could work on his front. “He seems to like the classical stuff and the jazz the best. Not that I have an exhaustive playlist or anything. I could ask around, see what some of the others could send me.”

“Why don’t we call him that?” Sunstreaker asked. Pretty much finished sudsing up the sparkling’s body, he cupped his fingers under the water spray and then carefully sluiced away the grimy bubbles.

“Hm? Call him what?” Sideswipe asked, angling his body so that the stream hit the sparkling’s chest to assist.

“Jazz. You said you wanted to learn more about his personality. That seems like a pretty strong preference there,” Sunstreaker commented.

Sideswipe looked up at Sunstreaker, optics bright. “’Jazz’… I like it; you’re right, it fits him. Plus it’s monosyllabic so it’ll be easy to scream if he gets lost and we’re calling for him.”

Sunstreaker blinked at his twin, hands stilling as he considered Sideswipe. “You’ve already started a list of all the worst-case scenarios that could happen with having a sparkling, haven’t you?”

He wouldn’t be surprised. Out of the two of them, Sideswipe was the one who had a head for strategy. Sunstreaker tended to charge into battle and relied on his brother to direct him and his skills in one direction or another if need be. Of course, it also led to a bit of constant low-level anxiety for Sideswipe because he would imagine every possible negative outcome of even the most mundane situations.

“Of course!” Sideswipe chirped cheerfully, holding the sparkling up and staring at him critically. “I started the list the moment I found him. Hey, there, Jazz. Do you like that name? You can always change your designation later if you want, but for now, that’s you!”

Jazz giggled a little when Sideswipe swooped him up and down, making Sunstreaker smile at the carefree sound. Something deep inside him relaxed a fraction. Their sparkling had proper fuel in him, was clean, and had been christened with a name. On top of that, he and Sideswipe had a plan in place for this next stage of their lives, and it was a pretty good one.

They had always had each other, but now they had a fragile, beautiful life to protect and care for. War had stripped away all but the most basic purpose of survival, but now they had another and it made Sunstreaker finally feel hope for the future.

~ End


End file.
